TOP

Château Pontet-Canet 2004

Last week I pulled the cork on one of my few remaining bottles of the 1994 vintage from Château Pontet-Canet, a wine which marks the beginning of the Pontet-Canet renaissance, brought about by two men, proprietor Alfred Tesseron and manager (although he has since retired) Jean-Michel Comme. This week, we move forward to a slightly more recent vintage, albeit one that endures a reputation not wholly dissimilar to 1994.

By the time 2004 had rolled along, Alfred and Jean-Michel had more than stamped their authority on the property. Quality had undeniably improved, and the notes and scores received from influential critics – Parker especially – reflected this. And yet, looking back from our vantage point, two decades on, we can see that the two men were still in the early stages of their journey, which would see every aspect of life on the estate turned upside-down.

Part of their programme of change to the work in the vineyard was a planned shift into organic and biodynamic viticulture, and it was in 2004 that they made the first move, switching 14 hectares – a decent slice of the estate, which has 81 hectares of vineyards – over to combined organic and biodynamic viticulture. The initial project was a success, and in subsequent vintages their commitment to both organic and biodynamic methods grew.

Until 2007, that is.

After a near-perfect summer in 2005, and something a little more ho-hum in 2006, the 2007 vintage brought an array of meteorological challenges, and as a consequence it competes with 2002 as the least appealing vintage of the first decade of the 21st century (I say that, although I must confess I have long had a soft spot for the pure aromatics of 2002, while acknowledging the palates can be on the light side). The 2007 season began with an early budbreak, but difficult weather during spring prompted a rather patchy and prolonged flowering. The real problems, however, began during summer, or should I write “summer”, as June, July and August were marked by persistently drizzly and dull weather, raising the disease pressure to challenging levels. Across the region estate managers sprayed antifungal treatments; if they did not, they risked losing their entire crop. Alfred and Jean-Michel, limited to only organic treatments, faced a stark reality.

Château Pontet-Canet 2004

At this moment they were still early in their organic and biodynamic journey, and so it is no surprise to me that under this pressure they cracked. Thoughts of organic and biodynamic certification – a process which requires, as a minimum, a three-year period of observation and monitoring – went into the bin. And yet, as soon it was done, I sense Alfred regretted the decision. Speaking with him back in 2010 he was adamant that even if another season like 2007 came along, they would in future remain adherent to their organic and biodynamic methods. And so the process of certification began again; the 2008 and 2009 vintages were from vines “in conversion”, and in the end 2010 was the first vintage to be certified as organic, by Ecocert. And every vintage since has the same certification, even troubling, mildew-riddled vintages such as 2018 and 2021. I suspect the worst-affected vintages are marked by very low yields reflecting the commitment to only organic treatments, but as the team here don’t release details of the rendement, this is merely my supposition.

But back to 2004. After flowering it was apparent the potential crop was huge, and it was reduced by three rounds of green harvesting; this was a practice Alfred and Jean-Michel were at the time still adherent to, although they would later come to rely on it less. The summer weather was fairly unexciting (although clearly better than 2007 would be). Thankfully the rains held off before and during the harvest, so the fruit was in generally good condition when picked; the first snip of the secateurs came on the last day of September, and the work was finished nearly three weeks later, on October 18th. The wines were perhaps always destined to be in the shadow of 2003, and then 2005 of course, but there have always been some gems hidden within the vintage. I think the 2004 from Château Pontet-Canet has long been one of those gems.

In the glass the 2004 Château Pontet-Canet presents an attractive hue, with a nice density for the vintage, a dark plum core and dusty matt rim. The aromatics are a delight, starting off with scents of violets and incense, before relaxing to reveal notes of crisp blackcurrant, blackberry, black liquorice, rose and lavender, along with very fine dark chocolate and touches of fragrant mint. This precedes a fresh and light-footed style at the very start of the palate, then a light and savoury texture through the middle, set upon a nicely resolved core of tannins which add a barely perceptible touch of powdery grip. Overall this is fresh, lightly floral and peppery, with a delicate finish, an easy-going charmer with aromatics that outclass the palate. The structure seems almost entirely resolved here, with just a lick of tannin remaining. Drinking now. 93/100

Of course, these days, twenty years on from the 2004 vintage, the viticultural and winemaking philosophies held at Château Pontet-Canet have evolved even further. The vines are worked by horses, which reside in purpose-built stables. The cellars have been rebuilt and expanded, the freshly picked bunches sorted and destemmed in an electricity-free environment. And it seems every time I visit, there is a new cuverie or row of vats to admire (possibly something of an exaggeration, but you get the picture). Meanwhile, Jean-Michel retired from the estate in 2019, and now Mathieu Bessonnet – previously of Chapoutier, a leading biodynamic name in the Rhône Valley – takes on the role of technical director.

It seems Alfred and Mathieu have no desire to slow things down; maybe I should set a date to review the 2014 and 2024 vintages side-by-side in the future. But not too soon; shall we say sometime around 2045? (21/7/25)

Read more in:

Find Château Pontet-Canet 2004 on Wine Searcher:

Find all Château Pichon-Lalande wines on Wine Searcher: